And the absurd thing is that we probably should use natural diamonds for jewelry, as it is a waste to synthesize such a common rock. If they weren't hoarded and aggressively marketed as something you have to have, they could just be a neat rock some people are into, there wouldn't be child slaves dying to dig them out of the ground.

If anyone wants a really deep dive into the diamond industry, a recent episode of Search Engine (podcast by PJ Vogt, for anyone familiar with Reply All) is all about this: https://pjvogt.substack.com/p/why-are-we-still-buying-diamonds

It’s a fantastic episode.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/195430621450

Do I trust ebay? Not really. Is this a fair sized diamond, cut, for $10? It claims to be.

edit: my bad, synthetic diamonds are also known as moissanite and aren't actually diamonds. Here's a link to two lab grown diamonds, cut, for like $30

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126018751890

I bought my wife a 'fake ' diamond ring for the engagement ring.

She couldn't tell her snooty friends that though, so she went and bought herself a very expensive ring with real diamonds.

She had the ring I bought her melted into my wedding band. I hate jewellery though so had no intention of wearing it. I agreed to wear it for a week after we got married. I've never worn it again. I haven't even seen it since that first week. Over a decade. I wonder if it's just lost, or she has it somewhere still.

I don't care enough to ask.

the alchemists could've been successful, and all the gold mine barons would've been: so, actually, well, you can't see it, but I assure you, and the experts will agree, that there is actually a very fine, yes, a very fine distinction (if you can notice it, it really means you have a refined sense of taste, yes) in shimmer between ersatz, synthetic gold from the alchemist, and that the rare, natural from the earth. Ah . . . . well yes, you're right, the natural gold is ever so slightly duller, but, you see

DeBeers have massive investments in the synthetic diamond industry. They are actually world leaders and have known that it's possible to produce higher quality diamonds at a much lower cost. They make a killing selling synthetic diamonds to industry.